Title Ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East / Lauren Ristvet

Published Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014

Click on the following:
EBSCO eBooks

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xiv, 317 pages) : illustrations Summary In this book, Lauren Ristvet rethinks the narratives of state formation by investigating the interconnections between ritual, performance, and politics in the ancient Near East. She draws on a wide range of archaeological, iconographic, and cuneiform sources to show how ritual performance was not set apart from the real practice of politics; it was politics. Rituals provided an opportunity for elites and ordinary people to negotiate political authority. Descriptions of rituals from three periods explore the networks of signification that informed different societies. From circa 2600 to 2200 BC, pilgrimage made kingdoms out of previously isolated villages. Similarly, from circa 1900 to 1700 BC, commemorative ceremonies legitimated new political dynasties by connecting them to a shared past. Finally, in the Hellenistic period, the traditional Babylonian Akitu festival was an occasion for Greek-speaking kings to show that they were Babylonian and for Babylonian priests to gain significant power Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-306) and index Notes Print version record Subject Ritual -- Social aspects -- Middle East -- History -- To 1500 Rites and ceremonies -- Middle East -- History -- To 1500 Political culture -- Middle East -- History -- To 1500 Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Middle East -- History -- To 1500 Political customs and rites -- Middle East -- History -- To 1500 Festivals -- Middle East -- History -- To 1500 Social archaeology -- Middle East HISTORY -- Ancient -- General. Antiquities Festivals Pilgrims and pilgrimages Political culture Political customs and rites Politics and government Rites and ceremonies Social archaeology SUBJECT Middle East -- Antiquities. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh90004414 Middle East -- Politics and government. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85090511 Middle East -- History -- To 622. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85090507 Subject Middle East Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9781107588127 110758812X 9781316204320 1316204324

  Permalink